If you’ve spent any time in Texas, you know two things: the brisket is smoked low and slow, and the Dallas Cowboys are God’s chosen franchise, at least according to the Cowboys. For everyone else, there’s a new Netflix docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, which offers a front-row seat to the team’s Shakespearean saga of oil money, egos, and end zones.
The series charts the Cowboys’ meteoric rise and inevitable implosion under the ever-magnificent, occasionally Machiavellian, Jerry Jones, the Arkansas oilman who bought the team, fired living legend Tom Landry, endured a 1-15 season that would make a lesser man retreat into witness protection, and then, somehow, assembled a dynasty that won three Super Bowls in four years. This is not just football history. It’s American legend with shoulder pads.
The filmmakers behind this sweaty, western epic, Chapman and Maclain Way joined Bryan Kluger on the show to talk about all things Cowboys, cinema, and chaos. We talked about everything. The delicate art of getting Jerry Jones to say something he hasn’t already said in a hundred other interviews (spoiler: you just let him talk, he will happily monologue until the tape runs out), the unexpected moments that blindsided the crew mid-shoot, and the quiet, strangely intimate interviews that reveal more about the psychology of sports obsession than ESPN ever could.
And because no conversation about documentaries is complete without a little time travel, Bryan also asked the Way Brothers which overlooked figure or moment in history they’d love to cover next. Their answers ranged from the bizarre to the sublime and let’s just say we might one day get the definitive docuseries about a dog who committed murder.
It’s a fantastic, funny, and surprisingly tender discussion, one that reminds you why we obsess over sports at all. Because beneath the instant replays, broken collarbones, and billionaire owners, it’s always been about one thing: the stories we tell ourselves about winning, losing, and the price of both.
Enjoy the show! It was a ton of fun.
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WRITTEN BY: BRYAN KLUGER
BRYAN KLUGER, A SEASONED VOICE IN THE REALM OF ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A WIDE ARRAY OF PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING ARTS+CULTURE MAGAZINE, HIGH DEF DIGEST, BOOMSTICK COMICS, AND HOUSING WIRE MAGAZINE, AMONG OTHERS.
HIS INSIGHTS ARE ALSO CAPTURED THROUGH HIS PODCASTS; MY BLOODY PODCAST AND FEAR AND LOATHING IN CINEMA PODCAST; WHICH LISTENERS CAN ENJOY ACROSS A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WRITTEN WORK, KLUGER BRINGS HIS EXPERTISE TO THE AIRWAVES, HOSTING TWO LIVE RADIO SHOWS EACH WEEK: SOUNDTRAXXX RADIO ON WEDNESDAYS AND THE ENTERTAINMENT ANSWER ON SUNDAYS. HIS MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO MEDIA AND CULTURE OFFERS A UNIQUE, IMMERSIVE PERSPECTIVE FOR THOSE WHO SEEK BOTH DEPTH AND ENTERTAINMENT.
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